“O’Neill’s profession could easily explain how she and Talia became acquainted,” he mused. “You should cross-reference any of the doc’s cases with Homeland’s to see if anything hits.”
“Already two steps ahead of you. As usual, you’re correct. Dr. O’Neill is listed as a psychology consultant for the first case Talia worked after moving to D.C.”
So the two women met under a professional situation, and now they were…friends? It was possible the redhead was just doing a simple favor by giving Talia a ride. But a strange nagging in Jagger’s gut said the choice to call that woman specifically had been made through purposeful calculations.
Why her?
“You said there was something youdidn’tfind on the O’Neill woman that sparked your interest,” Jagger circled back to Liam’s previous comment. “What did you mean?”
“It could be nothing, and I’ll keep looking into it to be sure, but it’s the woman’s background that’s throwing me off.”
“How so?”
“On the surface, she appears to be fully on the up-and-up. Anyone looking into her, even a few layers deep, will find exactly the same intel I did. Scarlett O’Neill is a single, professional woman who makes a damn good living helping the good guys I.D., locate, and put away the bad ones.”
Jagger paused. “So what’s the issue? She got some well-hidden criminal record herself or something?”
“The exact opposite, actually. The woman’s clean. As in squeaky. And the more I dig, the weirder it gets.”
“Weird, how?”
“I’ll keep doing my thing, of course, but as the way things sit, it’s almost like…”
When Liam’s voice fell away, Jagger looked at his phone’s screen to make sure the call hadn’t dropped. “Like what?” he asked, bringing the device back to his ear.
A few seconds passed before his teammate said, “Like up until about twelve years ago, Scarlett O’Neill didn’t exist.”
He took a moment to process the thought but quickly brushed it aside. “Talia was CIA. It’s possible the doc was, too.”Or still is.“Her background could have been scrubbed to keep her safe from the enemy.”
“Fair point.” Liam sort of agreed. But then, “See? That’s the problem with spooks. You never can tell who to trust.” He sighed. “Anyway, I’ll keep digging into that. Unless, of course, you’d prefer I drop it here.”
“No,” Jagger blurted his answer a little too quickly. “I mean…keep going.”
“Copy that. And hey, before I forget to ask, how’d the rest of today go?”
Jagger took a few minutes to give Liam the abridged version of his eventful afternoon. He hit all the bullet points, starting with Talia’s interaction with her disgruntled former teammate.
He shared his thoughts on Keith Sinclair—namely that he believed the guy was full of shit. Jagger also told his friend about Ryker’s unwavering faith in Talia, and how she’d blown her top upon learning the truth about her flight’s fictitious cancellation.
“You told her about that?” Liam’s voice rose to a much higher pitch. “Dude! What the hell?”
Jagger kept his cool while his gaze remained locked on Talia’s narrow, three-story home. “Dude,” he mimicked. “Relax. It’s not like she’s going to do anything about it.”
“Oh, and you know this for sure.”
“Pretty sure.” He smirked. When Liam started to get antsy again, he added a more serious, “Ryker was there, too. He knows all about it and even stood up for us with Talia when she started to get pissed.”
“She’s good now, though…right?”
Jagger thought back to the moment she stormed out of the room. “Uh…good is really more of a relative term.” He paused. “But if you’re asking whether I think she’s going to send us both to prison for tricking her into letting me fly her home, we’re good.”
A mumbled curse reached his ear, making him smile once again. When Liam rejoined the conversation, there was only one more thing he needed to hear.
“I know there’s still a lot to figure out as far as Sinclair’s level of involvement in Sanchez’s smuggling operation. Like if he evenwasinvolved. But Homeland will take care of all that. What’s important to me is knowing we can trust our handler.”
“We can trust her.” Jagger made sure to leave no doubt where she was concerned.
“That your gut talking, or another part of that fine physique of yours?”
